In all my sourcing lately, I’ve been cataloguing my personal favorite pieces as I go and couldn’t help but dream up my ideal living room. Like, if I was starting from scratch and got to redo my living room without a budget, this is what I’d get right this second. Of course this could change tomorrow because after all its a digital living room and dreams are fickle like that. However, in the creation of my dream room, I also found a lot of parallels between the higher end stores and less expensive big box stores.

Now, I am always a proponent of buying original designers work and quality pieces when possible but one doesn’t usually have the means to go out and fill an entire room with big tickets items. So until we’ve all won the lottery or gotten a big ole bonus, I’ve gone and re-created the room with some more budget friendly options as well.

 

luxe look // tailored modern bohoI love the relaxed but still tailored vibe of this room. The clean lines of the upholstered sofa and ottoman start things off a touch strait laced, but the comfy vintage leather chair and the warmth of all the natural materials says oh I’m not uptight, look how chill I can be and the curves on the bench and the sculptural side table shows it has style for days.

Luxe Look Sources: Pendant // Sofa // Artwork 1 // Artwork 2 // Ottoman // Ladder // Bench // Rug // Side Table // Accent Chair look for less // tailored modern bohoOf course, one person’s “high” is not the same as everyone else’s. You might be thinking 20k isn’t so bad for an entire room or you could be thinking hey, I can’t even come close to affording the “low” room. When I made the “low” version of the room, I didn’t go bottom basement low. Yes, I could have sourced a white sofa from Ikea and saved another $1,000 and that green chair is not cheap by any means. I could have found one for a fraction of that price (like this one, which would have cut the total cost down over $2k!) but I wanted to keep it as true to the original design as I could. Also, I do think it is important to scrimp and save where you can but invest in a piece or two that really brings personality to a space.

Look for Less Sources: Pendant // Sofa // Artwork 1 // Artwork 2 // Ottoman // Ladder // Bench // Rug // Side Table // Accent Chair

What do you guys think? Is the second look comparable or a sad version? (I actually really love the side table and that bench… I’m kind of dying for an excuse to get them). Also, do you want to see more virtual rooms or posts like this on the blog? I have to say designing for no one in particular is pretty fun. x

  • I love this post, Sarah!! I’m SO shocked by how similar the two rooms feel despite the difference in budget…Gives me hope that I can pull something similar off with our meager home funds 🙂

  • Susan

    These are my favorite type of posts. And I wanted to mention that your low priced version is very comparable to the $$$ room. Please continue these posts.

  • Susan

    Sorry. One more comment. Would love to see if you could source a less pricey version of the top ottoman.

  • Laura

    I think the vibe is pretty similar! I like these posts! I think it is interesting as a ‘non designer’ to compare the looks and see what you picked as the commonalities between the pieces. I also like that the low room is not just IKEA or Target items as I feel like those are ubiquitous and so it is nice to see other things.

    • sarah

      Right! I like to call it the dance of putting together a room. To get something comparable you have to kind of hit at least similar style and similar color, one different piece can change the feel of a room dramatically!

  • I immediately anthropomorphized the upholstered portion to look like it’s sitting on the wood frame…and now I can’t unsee it 👀

  • Is it terrible that I actually love the cheaper option more?! Both are gorgeous of course. I am sure my husband will be happy to hear I liked the cheaper better (for once! lol).

    xx

    Alexandria
    creative + content curator + designer
    http://alexandriamavis.com/

  • Amanda

    Love these kind of posts!

  • Kelly J

    Great post! Thanks!

  • Jennette Quinn

    I have the Anthropologie accent chair in the camelish color and it rocks. Worth the splurg. I’d love to have the amber interiors ottoman. Been eyeing it since it came out! Great designs!

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